Pitched in against a rough-house set of forwards who were physically prepared to drive the ball and a backline capable of stringing extensive phases of play together, Bayonne looked a considerably better side than the one at the start of the competition.

But Gloucester did particularly well in the scrum and dominated that area throughout. And when they maintained the tempo and momentum of their rugby in the right parts of the field, looked a dangerous side.

Through the concerted efforts of Jake Boer, who is playing some mean and moody rugby just now, Peter Buxton, the heavy duty back rower and Marcel Garvey, who had an outstanding game defensively, Gloucester had enough in most areas of the field.

They took the lead after nine minutes with a lovely try. A line-out was carried forward by Peter Richards and Ludovic Mercier before Luke Narraway added his weight to the attack and Adam Eustace thundered through a big game in midfield.

And when possession came back, prop Gary Powell burst over for the first of his two tries.

But Gloucester's control did not last. Mercier was penalised for a high tackle and Bayonne kicked the penalty to the corner. Steve Hall claimed the line-out and the visiting forwards pushed Gloucester over with some comfort for loosehead prop Aretz Iguiniz to score.

It cut the advantage to 7-5 and that's how it would stay until the 28th minute when Gloucester scored again.

Bayonne last Richard Dourthe to the sinbin for a late tackle on Mercier and after Gloucester churned their way down field, Alex Brown claimed the line-out and from the drive, Powell was bundled over for his second try.

However, Gloucester required far more tempo to their game to truly put it out of reach and it came two minutes after the break.

Mefin Davies, Richards and Mercier sustained a move to the right but it was Boer's superb surge into the heart of Bayonne's defence that created room for Morgan to power home in the wing position.

Mercier's conversion made it 25-5 and Gloucester were within sight of a bonus point. Again Richards and Mercier were heavily involved and Mike Tindall dropped his shoulder to score to the right of the sticks.

It took Gloucester 32-5 ahead, home and hosed. However, Bayonne suddenly found their feet in the last quarter and scored two tries.

Gloucester lost Tindall to the sinbin for killing the ball and with five minutes to go replacement Christophe Laurent scored from close range following a series of powerful surges and good ball retention.

And it was to Bayonne's credit that they were able to score again in stoppage time. Despite some outstanding defence from Garvey, Benjamin Thierry found his way home down the left.

Dourthe's conversion made the score 35-19 and far closer than it should have been - but Gloucester secured a home tie in the last eight.

Argentine international Mariano Galarza made his Gloucester Rugby debut on Sunday afternoon, and despite a disappointing reverse to Sale Sharks, the giant Puma was just glad to be making his long-awaited bow in Cherry and White.

Having skippered Scotland to a hard fought 25-13 defeat against England at Twickenham on Saturday, Greig Laidlaw spoke of the frustrations of his side doing so many good things and making real progress as a team but still finishing on the wrong end of the scoreline.

GRTV caught up with Neil McCarthy as he was unveiled as the new Head of Academy. The ex-Gloucester front rower is looking forward to getting to work with the vast arrays of talent in the Academy and across Gloucestershire.

Although understandably disappointed to see Northampton snatch a 33-33 draw with a last gasp try on Saturday, Gareth Evans told GRTV after the game that the result shows how far Gloucester have come as a team this season.

Gloucester scrum half Greig Laidlaw spoke to GRTV after the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, and the Scotsman described how the hosts played some great rugby, but will rue not holding the lead which keeps them in touch with the top seven.

Although Gloucester could take many positives from the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, centre Bill Meakes admitted it was a strange feeling at the final whistle with Gloucester having probably done enough to win the game.

Speaking after the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints on Saturday, David Humphreys admitted that he was happy with many aspects of the team's performance but regretted a missed opportunity to defeat the Premiership champions.

Hartpury U18s won the AASE league for the sixth year in a row last week beating Filton College in the Final at Allianz Park by 50 points to nil, while Bromsgrove School won their first NatWest U18 Schools Cup.

Gloucester Rugby would like to inform supporters about an exciting opportunity for you to raise money for your chosen charity or chosen cause. 2015 is an exciting year for Gloucester, with Kingsholm Stadium hosting four fixtures for Rugby World Cup 2015.